Avatar 2 Won’t be Delayed Due to COVID-19: James Cameron

Avatar was a phenomenon that released in 2009 and broke all Box Office records. Up until 2019, it was at number one position, till Avengers: Endgame came along. The beautiful performance capture, adept CGI work and the 3D technology made it one of the most gorgeous and realistic movies of that time. Thus, when James Cameron decided to release Avatar 2, it was a treat for movie buffs all around.

However, Avatar 2’s release, which was supposed to be on 17 December 2021 has been under a lot of speculation with the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. With Hollywood practically shutting down and studios having to push their movies back, it is a bad time for creators and fans.

But Cameron is still confident that his film will be able to stick with its 2021 release date.

“I want to get back to work on Avatar, which right now we’re not allowed to do under state emergency laws or rules. So, it’s all on hold right now,” Cameron said, speaking to Empire for the new Celebration Of Cinema issue.

Filming was scheduled to take place in New Zealand but was stopped in its tracks when travelling became too risky.

“We were about to shoot down in New Zealand, so that got pushed. We’re trying to get back to it as quick as we can,” he said. However, even with such grave problems in his tracks, the filmmaker wishes to continue with the shooting of Avatar 2 and finish it on time.

“On the bright side, New Zealand seems to have been very effective in controlling the virus and their goal is not mitigation, but eradication, which they believe that they can do with aggressive contact tracing and testing,” he said, adding: “So there’s a very good chance that our shoot might be delayed a couple of months, but we can still do it. So that’s good news.”

It is to be noted here that, thanks to the advent of technology, the work on the film has not stopped. Everyone at Weta Digital and Lightstorm are still working from home as much as possible in order to finish the movie on time. “But my work is on the stage doing the virtual cameras and so on, so I can do a bit of editing, but it’s not great for me,” Cameron said.

Avatar 2 takes place 12 years after the first movie. Jake Sully has now joined the Na’vi and has formed a family with Neytiri. The tribe is wandering across Pandora and forming new alliances. However, the good times come to an end when the R.D.A. decide to invade Pandora once more to finish what they started. Avatar 2 will see Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldana reprise their roles from the first movie. It will also have some of the other older members back for the second movie.

The first Avatar movie was one of the biggest hits of 2009 and broke Titanic’s record. With a budget of $237 million, the film grossed $2.79 billion at the box office. It won the Academy Awards 2010 for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects and a host of other awards.

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